1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a technology for entering characters.
2. Description of the Background Art
In recent years, as a character input apparatus for a user to enter characters, a character input apparatus of a type equipped with a touch panel is prevalent. Such a character input apparatus including a touch panel displays character buttons that are command buttons corresponding to the characters which are candidates for entry. When the user touches an operation surface of the touch panel, the character input apparatus receives an entry of the character that corresponds to the character button in the position touched by the user.
By the way, since the operation surface size of the touch panel is limited, the character buttons that correspond to all characters which are the candidates for entry cannot be displayed simultaneously. Thus, the character buttons to be displayed are limited to relatively frequently-used characters, and an additional operation is required to enter different types of characters from these characters.
For example, when the user enters “Hiragana” used in Japanese, a plurality of character buttons corresponding to 46-basic kanas such as “SI,” “HI,” “TU,” and “YA” are displayed in an initial state. Therefore, when the user enters each of the 46-basic kanas, the user may touch the character button corresponding to the character only once. On the other hand, when the user enters dakuon such as “JI” and “BI,” handakuon such as “PI,” and small-sized kanas such as “tu” and “ya,” the operation or the like to touch a related character button of the basic kana, and to touch the command button for instructing the conversion of a type is required.
Also, for example, when the user enters the “alphabets” used in English and the like, the character buttons corresponding to only either type of characters of “upper case letters” or “lower case letters” are displayed in the initial state. Thus, when the user enters the other type of characters, an operation to switch the type of characters is required. Therefore, for example, when the user enters a sentence in which the “upper case letters” and the “lower case letters” are mixed, every time the user needs to enter another type of characters, the complicated operation for switching temporarily the type of characters is required.
As described above, the additional operation to enter the different types of characters from the characters to be displayed as character buttons in the initial state is complicated and reduces the input efficiency. Thus, the technology to enter the different types of characters efficiently has been desired.